Norway's largest oil discovery field on the country's continental shelf, Johan Sverdrup, was approved by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on Thursday, Statoil announced on Friday.
The associated plans for installation and operation for transportation pipelines and power supply from shore were approved.
'The field is of great importance, and will generate substantial spin-offs and value for partners and society for more than 50 years. Focused efforts are now underway in the partnership to ensure that the opportunities and enormous values in the Johan Sverdrup field are captured,' said Arne Sigve Nylund, executive vice president for Development and Production Norway.
Additionally, Qivind Reinertsen, senior vice president of the field said that Statoil is on the schedule in the field's development.
'The project activities will now be stepped up, and more contracts will be awarded in the autumn. Last week the first piece of the Johan Sverdrup development, the pre-drilling template, was installed on the field in the North Sea,' Reinertsen said.
The oil field will be developed in several phases. The first phase consists of four bridge-linked platforms, in addition to three subsea water injection templates.
The Norwegian energy giant's Johan Sverdrup field, as the country's largest, will provide 25 percent of the country's oil production by 2025. Production from the field will start in late 2019.
Statoil, having worked on this field for five years, forecasts that the field has a capacity of 2.35 billion barrels. The field will cost $31 billion to develop and will produce 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day at its peak.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
murat.temizer@aa.com.tr